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CoE: Trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

Submission by Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation1 to the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) in view of its consideration of the Draft Report on possible amendment of Appendices 1 and 3 to Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on the possibility of introducing a simplified amendment procedure for Appendix 2.

READ THE FULL SUBMISSION IN PDF
Summary

This submission by Amnesty International and by the Omega Research Foundation1 aims to inform the ongoing review by the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) of the lists of prohibited and controlled goods under the Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 to member States on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CM/Rec(2021)2 or Recommendation) to be considered at its 105th meeting.

Amnesty International, as an observer to the CDDH, and the Omega Research Foundation, have actively shared their expertise as torture-prevention and human rights civil society organizations with the CDDH since the outset of its work leading up to Recommendation CM2021(2). Our organizations support the recommendations for extending, strengthening and regularly reviewing the lists of prohibited and controlled equipment made in the Draft CDDH Report on possible amendment of Appendices 1 and 3 to Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (hereafter ‘Draft CDDH Report’).2

1. URGENTLY REQUIRED ADDITIONS TO APPENDIXES 1 AND 3

This submission specifically highlights five items which, due to their well-documented severe human rights impacts, including in the commission of torture or other ill-treatment in custodial and non-custodial contexts, would be vital additions to CM/Rec(2021)2 Appendixes 1 and 3 and therefore require the Committee of Ministers urgent consideration. Our organisations believe that the following prohibitions and controls are absolutely essential for the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment in line with state obligations under the UN Convention against Torture and related instruments:

1.1. Urgently required additions to the list of prohibited goods in Appendix 1:

  • Direct contact electric shock weapons and equipment
  • Multiple kinetic impact projectiles

1.2. Urgently required additions to the list of controlled goods in Appendix 3:

  • Stun grenades
  • Acoustic Devices and Weapons
  • Police batons

2. SIMPLIFIED AND BIENNIAL REVIEW PROCEDURE

Our organizations support the proposals made in the Draft CDDH Report to introduce a simplified procedure for the amendment of Appendix 2 regarding pharmaceuticals used in lethal injection, and to extend these provisions to amendment of Appendices 1 and 3 regarding law enforcement equipment used in torture and other ill-treatment, as well as the proposal for a biennial review by the CDDH of goods covered by the instrument.

Overview

For several decades, civil society has been actively involved in promoting and supporting efforts to regulate the trade in law enforcement weapons and equipment that can be used for torture and other ill-treatment. Since 2023, a global Torture-Free Trade Network, now made up of over 85 NGOs from all world regions, has been calling on states to create or strengthen national and regional regulations and for the negotiation of an international legally binding Torture-Free Trade Treaty through the United Nations.3

In 2023 the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture published an authoritative Study on the global trade in law enforcement weapons and equipment used in torture and other ill-treatment, and established a list of inherently abusive ‘Category A’ goods that should be prohibited and ‘Category B’ law enforcement equipment that risk misuse and should be controlled.4 We support the UN Special Rapporteur’s findings and recommendations.

Our organizations also welcome the 2025 revision and expansion made by European Union (EU) Member States of the range of law enforcement equipment and weapons prohibited and controlled under the EU Anti-Torture Regulation.5 This was an important step forward in regional Torture-Free Trade measures supported by torture prevention organizations.6 However, certain law enforcement weapons and equipment were not adequately addressed in that process.

We believe that the current CDDH review of the Appendixes in CM/Rec 2021(2) allows CoE Member States an opportunity to incorporate and build on the advances made by the EU, informed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture’s recommendations, so as to strengthen the CoE’s own instrument and thereby reenforce its efforts in the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment.

We note that the CDDH itself proposed that: “[T]he Committee of Ministers initiates a review with a view to possible revision of Appendices 1 and 3 of the Recommendation in order to reflect international developments, address emerging risks and align with the UN Special Rapporteur on torture’s proposed Category A and B lists and the revised draft annexes of the EU Anti-Torture Regulation.”7 [Emphasis added].

We further note the Committee of Ministers in turn requested the CDDH to undertake this review of Appendices 1 and 3 “with a view to their revision in the light of the lists proposed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture…and the revised annexes” of the EU Anti Torture Regulation.8 [Emphasis added].

We therefore welcome the Draft CDDH Report prepared by the CoE Secretariat ahead of the 104th CDDH meeting, also in its revised version of 4 September 2026 (CDDH(2026)12REV), and support its recommendations, which we believe present a comprehensive overview of the changes necessary to CM/Rec 2021(2). The CDDH now has a unique opportunity to use both the EU Anti-Torture Regulation and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture’s lists to enable the Committee of Ministers to establish an ambitious standard for regulation in this area that responds to current usage of this law enforcement equipment in custodial and non-custodial settings, pointing the way forward for future progressive regional and international standard-setting.

We recognize that for EU Member States certain recommendations contained in the Draft CDDH Report (themselves based on the UN Special Rapporteur’s 2023 Interim Report) would diverge from the recently revised EU Anti-Torture Regulation. However, CoE CM/Rec(2021)2 is intended to promote and encourage the adoption of progressive policy in all CoE member States and since its inception it has contained certain goods beyond those covered by the EU Anti-Torture Regulation but that were instead covered by other EU instruments. We note in particular that the CoE CM/Rec(2021)2 already contains a list of common tear gases that are controlled in the EU under the Common Military List of the European Union, and that the proposed revision of CoE CM/Rec(2021)2 would likewise include stun grenades which are also controlled under the EU Common Military List.9 More broadly, we believe that for the EU Member States this CoE process could serve as a model for introducing national measures beyond the EU Anti-Torture Regulation, as well as informing future revisions of the EU Anti-Torture Regulation and the negotiation of a Torture-Free Trade Treaty.

Submission authored by Amnesty International† and Omega Research Foundation*†, and endorsed by the following organisations:

· Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT)*†
· Center for Victims of Torture (CVT)†
· DIGNITY†
· Freedom from Torture†
· International Federation of ACATs (FIACAT)*†
· International Network of Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO)†
· International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)*†
· REDRESS*†
· Reprieve
· World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)*†

* Members of the United Against Torture Consortium
† Members of the Torture-Free Trade Network

  1. This submission is also endorsed by other civil society organisations, a list of whom can be found at the end of the document. ↩︎
  2. CDDH(2026)12, Draft CDDH Report on possible amendment of Appendices 1 and 3 to Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on the possibility of introducing a simplified amendment procedure for Appendix 2, 5 June 2026. ↩︎
  3. Various NGOs, The Shoreditch Declaration for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty, January 2023, The-Shoreditch-Declaration-ENG.pdf; Amnesty International, the Omega Research Foundation and the International Human Rights Clinic of Harvard Law School, Essential Elements of a Torture-Free Trade Treaty, (Index: IOR 40/5977/2022), 23 September 2022, https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IOR4059772022ENGLISH.pdf ↩︎
  4. UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Interim report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 24 August 2023, UN Doc. A/78/324, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a78324-thematic-study-global-trade-weapons-equipment-and-devices-used ↩︎
  5. European Union, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/928 of 21 May 2025 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/125 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 31 July 2025, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32025R0928 ↩︎
  6. United Against Torture Consortium, “European Union Significantly Strengthens Region-Wide Efforts to End the Torture Trade”, 31 July 2025, https://omegaresearchfoundation.org/news/european-union-significantly-strengthens-region-wide-efforts-to-end-the-torture-trade/ ↩︎
  7. CDDH Report on the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, CDDH(2025)R102 Addendum 4 REV, paragraph 146. ↩︎
  8. CM/Del/Dec(2025)1539/4.1 – Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) – d. Report on the implementation of Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 7 October 2025, 3.b. ↩︎
  9. Riot control agents are controlled under ML7(e); Stun grenades are controlled under ML4 (a), C/2025/1499 Common Military List of the European Union adopted by the Council on 24 February 2025 (equipment covered by Council Common Position 2008/944/CFSP defining common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/1499/oj/eng/pdf ↩︎